Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Amazing Ignorance

Blake's 40 years of supporting reproductive choice began when he was a medical student and saw women who had been mutilated by illegal abortion, he said.

"Millions of women had illegal abortions," he said. "Only a small percentage had abortions that were performed by people that knew what they were doing."

How does one square that quote with the following quote from Dr. Mary Calderone (medical director of Planned Parenthood at the time) in the American Journal of Health in 1960?

"...90% of all illegal abortions are done by physicians. Call them what you will, abortionists or anything else, they are still physicians, trained as such; and many are in good standing in their communities. Whatever trouble arises usually comes after self-induced abortions, which comprise approximately 8 percent, or with the very small percentage that go to some kind of non-medical abortionist. Another corollary fact: physicians of impeccable standing are referring their patients for these illegal abortions to colleagues they know are willing to perform them."

Another classic quote from the pro-choice religious crowd:

Brown said he believes the right to reproductive choice is inborn and connected to being created in God's image and free will.

Do you get that? So being created in the image of God gives us certain rights, including the right to kill another being created in the image of God?

Still more really bad arguments. One Bonnie Shapero:

"My feeling has been all along if the government can tell you that you can't have an abortion, that is very close to the government telling you that you have to have an abortion."

What utter nonsense. They're not very close. They're polar opposites. For example, "My feeling has been all along if the government can tell you that you can't steal, that is very close to the government telling you that you have to steal. If the government can tell you that you can't rape, that is very close to the government telling you that you have to rape. If the government can tell you that you can't murder, that is very close to government telling you that you have to murder. If the government can tell you that you can't snort cocaine, that is very close to the government telling you that you have to snort cocaine. If the government can tell you that same sex people can't marry, that is very close to the government telling you that you have to marry someone of the same sex." What other issue could someone say something so completely unreasoned and incoherent and not get laughed at by everyone around them?

Another from Rebecca Turner:

Turner said the MORCRC's bottom line is "because religions do not agree on the beginning of life, ensoulment or when abortion is a morally acceptable choice, the government cannot legislate one religious view over another.

Bad assumption: The belief that life begins at conception is a religious view.

Bad argument: Because different religion take different positions on what is morally acceptable, the government cannot (or should not) speak legislatively on an issue where there is disagreement among religions.

What would be consequences of such an argument? Human sacrifice would be legal because some religions call for it. Some Muslims religious leaders think killing certain non-Muslims is morally acceptable so therefore the government shouldn't speak legislatively on whether Muslims can kill non-Muslim. Some church leaders might even think it is morally acceptable to bomb abortion clinics so killing abortionists shouldn't be legislated according to Turner's argument.

I sometimes think that the people who attempt to defend abortion on religious grounds often come up with some the worst arguments for why abortion should be legal.